Apparatus for repairing control arms of automotive suspension

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a bending roller apparatus and methods for use thereof for repairing a control arm of automotive suspension. An example apparatus includes a base having a saddle supporting a matrix to which the control arm is removably affixed. The matrix provides longitudinal and lateral movements and rotation of the control arm in a horizontal plane. The apparatus includes a matrix position calibration means for calibrating longitudinal, lateral and rotary positions of the matrix. The apparatus includes a bending roller positioning means for calibrating vertical and longitudinal positions of a bending roller to bring the bending roller in a contact with the upward-extending flange. The apparatus further includes bending roller means for bending the upward-extending flange inwards by rolling the bending roller along the circumference of the flange while applying a downward force on the flange thereby bending it inwards and sealing off the ball stud in the receptacle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/682,109 filed on Aug. 10, 2012, which is incorporatedby reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the automotive field, and moreparticularly to an apparatus and methods for repairing control arm of anautomotive suspension.

BACKGROUND

Suspension is an integral part of an automobile. Generally, suspensionincludes a system of springs, shock absorbers and control arms thatconnect a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between thetwo. Suspension serve a dual purpose contributing to the vehicle'sroadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and drivingpleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants comfortable and reasonably wellsuppress from road noise, bumps, and vibrations, etc. Control arms ofthe suspension are used to guide and steer the wheels. The control armprovides on one side the connection with the bearing arrangement of thewheel and on the other side the connection with the vehicle body. Duringoperation of the vehicle, the control arms are constantly subjected tovarious degrees of stress and its components can wear out resulting invarious problems, which range from noise coming from the suspension tomore serious damage to the wheels and other automotive systems.Replacement of worn control arms with new ones can be expensive.Therefore, there is a need for inexpensive mechanism for repairing usedcontrol arms to extend their service life.

SUMMARY

Disclosed are apparatus and methods for repairing aluminum control armsof an automotive suspension. In one example embodiment, a method forrepairing an aluminum control arm of the automotive suspension having aworn out or damaged ball stud includes: removing holding means that sealoff the ball stud in a receptacle of the control arm, extracting theball stud from the receptacle, cleaning a surface of the receptaclewhere the holding means were located, welding a circular,upward-extending flange to the cleaned surface of the receptacle,inserting a new ball stud in the receptacle of the control arm, andbending (or swaging) the upward-extending flange inwards to seal off thenew ball stud in the receptacle.

In another example embodiment, a bending roller apparatus includes abase having a saddle supporting a matrix to which the control arm can beremovably affixed. The matrix provides longitudinal and lateralmovements and rotation of the control arm in a horizontal plane. Theapparatus further includes a matrix position calibration means forcalibrating longitudinal, lateral and rotary positions of the matrix.The apparatus also includes bending roller positioning means forcalibrating vertical and longitudinal positions of a bending roller tobring the bending roller in a contact with the upward-extending flange.The apparatus further includes bending roller means for bending (orswaging) the upward-extending flange inwards by rolling the bendingroller along the circumference of the flange while applying a downwardforce on the flange thereby bending it inwards and sealing off the ballstud in the receptacle.

In another example embodiment, a method for repairing aluminum controlarms of an automotive suspension using the bending roller apparatusincludes affixing a control arm to a matrix of the bending rollerapparatus. The method further includes calibrating longitudinal, lateraland rotary positions of the matrix of the bending roller apparatus inthe horizontal plane relative to the base of the of the bending rollerapparatus. The method further includes calibrating vertical andlongitudinal positions of a bending roller of the bending rollerapparatus to bring the bending roller in contact with the flange of thecontrol arm. The method further includes bending the upward-extendingflange inwards by rolling the bending roller along the circumference ofthe flange while applying a downward force on the flange thereby bendingthe flange inwards and sealing off the ball end of the ball stud in thereceptacle.

The above simplified summary of example embodiment(s) serves to providea basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensiveoverview of all contemplated aspects of the invention, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all embodiments nordelineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is topresent one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description of the invention that follows. To theaccomplishment of the foregoing, the one or more embodiments comprisethe features described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more example embodimentsof the invention and, together with the detailed description serve toexplain their principles and implementations.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a used control arm of an automotivesuspension.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example repaired control arm of the automotivesuspension.

FIG. 3 illustrates side and elevated views of one example embodiment ofthe apparatus for repairing the control arm of the automotivesuspension.

FIG. 4-9 illustrates various example embodiments of the configuration ofthe apparatus for repairing the control arm of the automotivesuspension.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow chart of example methodology for repairing acontrol arm of the automotive suspension.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a computer system for controllingoperation of the apparatus for repairing control arm according to oneexample embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments of the present invention are described herein in thecontext of an apparatus and methods for repairing control arms of anautomotive suspension. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realizethat the following description is illustrative only and is not intendedto be in any way limiting. Other embodiments will readily suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art having the benefit of thisdisclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations ofthe example embodiments of the invention as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. The same reference indicators ill be used to theextent possible throughout the drawings and the following description torefer to the same or like items.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example control arm of an automotive suspension.As depicted, control arm 10 includes an elongated body 11 having aninner end 12 and an outer end 14. The body 11 of the control arm 10 ispreferably manufacture of aluminum or one of its alloys, which aregenerally lightweight, durable and corrosion-resistant metals. The innerend 12 faces the body of the vehicle (not shown), and the outer end 14faces a wheel assembly (not shown). The outer end 14 includes areceptacle 16, such as a socket, for receiving a steel bearing stud 18,such as a ball stud. One end of the bearing stud 18 includes ball (notshown) mounted within the receptacle 16 to form a ball joint. A metal orplastic washer (not shown) and/or grease lubricant can be placed insidethe receptacle 16 between the ball of the bearing stud 18 and the innersurface of the receptacle 16 to facilitate smooth movement/rotation ofthe ball within the receptacle 16. The bearing stud 18 may be held inplace in the receptacle 16 using a circular flange 19 running along theedge of the receptacle 16 and extending inwards, so that bearing stud 18can swivel within the receptacle 16, but cannot be removed therefrom.The other end of the bearing stud 18 is typically tapered and threaded(not shown) to fit into a tapered hole in the steering knuckle (notshown) of the wheel assembly (not shown).

Ball joint of the control arm 10 is the pivot between the wheels and thesuspension of the vehicle. Ball joints play a critical role in the safeoperation of the vehicle's steering and suspension. However, due to theconstant stress on the ball joint, the steel bearing stud 18, the washerand/or grease lubricant within the receptacle 16 frequently wear out.Signs of a failing ball joint usually start with a clicking or snappingsound when the wheel is turned and eventually turn into a squeakingsound at the end of a stop, when the gas pedal is used and/or also whenhitting bumps. When this happens, a typical solution is to replace theentire control arm 10 with a new cane. However, new control arms areexpensive. Therefore, there is a need for an ecologically cleanmechanism for repairing used control arms to extend their service life.

In one example embodiment, a method for repairing a used aluminumcontrol arm of the automotive suspension involves removing the oldaluminum flange 19 and a cover (not shown) holding the bearing stud 18in the receptacle 16 and extracting the bearing stud 18 from thereceptacle 16. The removal of the old flange 19 and extraction of thebearing stud 18 can be performed using any known mechanical processes.For example, the flange 19 can be cut off using known cutting tools.Alternatively, the bearing stud 18 can be physically pulled out by forceout of the receptacle 16, thereby breaking the old flange 19 holding itplace within the receptacle 16. Once the old bearing stud 18 is removed,the outer surface of the receptacle 16, where the old flange 19 used tobe, can be cleaned, conditioned or skived using known chemical ormechanical processes to remove any aluminum left from the old flange 19and to prepare control arm 10 for further processing, as will bedescribed in greater detail below.

Next with reference to FIG. 2, a new circular, upward-extending aluminumflange 22 can be formed on the edge of the receptacle 16 of the controlarm 10 using, for example, welding. For example, Phoenix 500 weldingapparatus can be used for welding new aluminum flange 22 on thereceptacle 16. In a preferred embodiment, the welding should beperformed in a neutral environment using pulse welding, whichfacilitates the destruction of an acid film forming on the surface ofthe aluminum receptacle 16 being welded. An aluminum rod can be used toform a new circular flange 22 on the surface of receptacle 16. Once anew aluminum flange 22 is formed on the surface of the receptacle 16, anew bearing stud 20 can be inserted in the receptacle 16 along with anew washer (not shown) and/or grease lubricant (not shown). And anoptional cover having an opening in the center thereof or a pressingring (not shown) can be inserted to close the opening in the receptacle16. Next, the new circular flange 22 can be bent (or swaged) inwards topartially seal gaff the cover covering the new bearing stud 20 withinits position in the receptacle 16. In this manner, the used control arm10 is repaired.

FIG. 3 depicts one example embodiment of a bending roller apparatus thatcan be used for repairing various types and brands of control arms ofdifferent automotive suspensions. Particularly, the bending rollerapparatus 30 can be manually or automatically controlled to performbending (or swaging) of a newly formed aluminum flange 22 of therepaired control arm 10. As depicted, the apparatus 30 includes a rollermechanism 31, roller support 34, and a base 35. The roller mechanism 31includes a vertical positioning mechanism 32, a horizontal positioningmechanism 33, and a bending roller assembly 37. The vertical positioningmechanism 32 is used for adjusting the elevation of the bending roller37 along axis A and relative to a saddle 38 of the base 35. The verticalpositioning mechanism 32 can be implemented as a simple mechanicallinear actuator (e.g., a screw or leadscrew), which transfers rotationof level 36 into linear (up or down) movement of roller assembly 37. Thehorizontal positioning mechanism 33 is used for adjusting thelongitudinal position of the bending roller 37 relative to the axis Aand relative to the saddle 38 of the base 35. The vertical positioningmechanism 32 can be implemented in a similar manner as a simplemechanical linear actuator (e.g., a screw or leadscrew), which transfersrotation of knob 33 a into linear (horizontal) movement of rollerassembly 37. The saddle 38 is used to rotatably support a matrix towhich a control arm 10 is removably affixed. The matrix will bediscussed next.

In one example embodiment, different matrices can be used for differenttypes or configurations of control arms of different automotivesuspensions. The selection of the appropriate matrix can be performed bythe human operator or automatically by a computer. One exampleconfiguration of the matrix is shown in FIGS. 4-9. Matrix 40 is used forholding and positioning the control arm 10 during bending (swaging) ofthe newly formed circular aluminum flange 22 of the receptacle 16. Asshown, matrix 40 comprises three plates 41, 42 and 43 slidably connectedto each other and rotatably connected to the saddle 38 of the of thebase 35 to provide three-degrees of freedom (e.g., longitudinal, lateraland rotational) of movement of the control arm 10 in a horizontal planerelative to the base 35 of the bending apparatus 30. The control arm 10may be removably affixed to the top plate 41 via control bolt 45.Generally, the position of the matrix 40 can be calibrated using matrixpositioning mechanisms 47, 48 and 49 in such a manner that the bearingstud 20 of the control arm 10 affixed to the matrix 40 is centered alongthe axis A of the roller mechanism 31. The matrix positioning mechanismscan be implemented as simple mechanical linear actuator (e.g., a screwor leadscrew), which transfers rotation of control knobs into linearmovement or rotation of plates 41, 42 and 43 in a horizontal planerelative to each other and the base 35 of bending roller apparatus 30.

Once the matrix 40 is centered in the required position, the position ofthe roller mechanism 31 may be calibrated (i.e., adjusted) usingvertical positioning mechanism 32 (e.g., using vertical position controlscrew-nut 32 a) and horizontal positioning mechanism 33 (e.g., usinghorizontal position control knob 33 a) to bring roller 39 of the bendingroller assembly 37 into contact with the outer surface of the newaluminum flange 22 of the control arm 10.

The rotator level 36 may then be manually or automatically rotated torotate the roller mechanism 1 around axis A and, through the operationof the mechanical linear actuator disposed within the verticalpositioning mechanism 32 press the roller assembly 37 downwards. Thesurface of the roller 39 may be slanted. The bending assembly 37 isoperable to rotate around the axis B. Thus, when the roller mechanism 31is rotated around axis A, the roller assembly 37 rotates around the axisB as the roller 39 roles along the circumference of the aluminum flange22, and applies downward and inward force to the outer surface of theflange 22, thereby bending it inwards, i.e., toward the center of theopening of the receptacle 16, and thus sealing off the cover or the ringof the receptacle, which hold the bearing stud 20 in its place. Therepaired control arm 10 then be removed from the bending rollerapparatus 30 and apparatus can be recalibrated to repair another controlarm.

FIG. 10 depicts one example methodology for repairing aluminum controlarms of an automotive suspension using the bending roller apparatus 30.At step 1010, the type and/or configuration of the used control arm ofautomotive suspension is determined. The determination may be based onthe manufacturer's part number. At step 1020, an appropriate matrix ofthe bending roller apparatus associated with the determined type orconfiguration of the control arm is selected. The selection of theappropriate matrix can be performed by the human operator orautocratically by a computer. At step 1030, the control arm is affixedto the selected matrix of the bending roller apparatus, and the matrix(with control arm affixed thereto) is set into the saddle of be bendingroller apparatus. At step 1040, the longitudinal, lateral and rotarypositions of the matrix are calibrated. At step 1050, the vertical andlongitudinal positions of the bending roller are calibrated to bring thebending roller in contact with the new flange of the control arm. Atstep 1060, the bending roller is roiled along the circumference of theflange while applying a downward force on the flange thereby bending (orswaging) the flange inwards and sealing off the ball end of the ballstud in the receptacle of the control arm. The repaired control arm maythen be removed from the matrix.

In one example embodiment, the above-described calibration processes maybe automated and performed by a computer. In particular, bending rollerpositioning mechanisms 32 a, 33 a and 36, and/or matrix calibratingmechanisms 47, 48 and 49 can be replace with, or connected toelectro-mechanical actuators, which may be controlled by a computer.Particularly, the computer may contain a program that accepts as aninput manufacturer's part number or other identifier of the control arm10. The computer stores in its memory a table containing dimensions orother information for different types of control arms of differentmanufacturers. Based on this information, the computer can generate andsend electric signals to the bending roller positioning mechanismsand/or matrix calibrating mechanisms for calibrating longitudinal,lateral and rotary positions of the bending roller 37 and matrix 40,with control arm attached thereto, to bring the bending roller 37 incontact with the flange 20 of the control arm 10. The computer may thenactivate level 36 to perform bending (or swaging) of the flange 20,thereby automatically repairing the control arm 10.

The above described apparatus and methods for repairing control armsautomotive suspensions have numerous advantages. For example, the methodis relatively inexpensive and easy to implement to provide refurbishedcontrol arms for the automotive aftermarket. A single bending rollerapparatus can be used to repair aluminum control arms of different typesof configurations due to use of different matrices. Another advantage ofthe disclosed technology is that it can be implemented in a factoryenvironment and automated using computer systems for mass repair ofcontrol arms for different automotive suspensions.

FIG. 11 depicts one example embodiment of a computer system 5, such as ageneral-purpose computer, which can be programmed to automaticallycontrol operation of the apparatus of the present invention forrepairing control arms of automotive suspension. As shown, computer 5may include one or more hardware processors 15, memory 20, one or morehard disk drive(s) 30, optical drive(s) 35, serial port(s) 40, graphicscard 45, audio card 50 and network card(s) 55 connected by system bus10. System bus 10 may be any of several types of bus structuresincluding a memory bus or memory controller a peripheral bus and a localbus using any of a variety of known bus architectures. Hardwareprocessor 15 may include one or more Intel® Core 2 Quad 2.33 GHzprocessors other type of microprocessor.

System memory 20 may include a read-only memory (ROM) 21 and randomaccess memory (RAM) 23, Memory 20 may be implemented as in DRAM (dynamicRAM), EPROM, EEPROM, Flash or other type of memory architecture. ROM 21stores a basic input/output system 22 (BIOS), containing the basicroutines that help to transfer information between the components ofcomputer 5, such as during start-u. RAM 23 stores operating system 24(OS), such as Windows® XP Professional or other type of operatingsystem, that is responsible for management and coordination of processesand allocation and sharing of hardware resources in computer 5. Systemmemory 20 also stores applications and programs 25, such as a controlprogram of the bending roller tool 30. System memory 20 also storesvarious runtime data 26 used by programs 25, such as matrix positionadjustment parameters for different types and brands of control armsused on different types of automotive suspensions.

Computer system 5 may further include hard disk drive(s) 30, such asSATA magnetic hard disk drive (HDD), and optical disk drive(s) 35 forreading from or writing to a removable optical disk, such as a CD-ROM,DVD-ROM or other optical media. Drives 30 and 35 and their associatedcomputer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computerreadable instructions, data structures, applications and programmodules/subroutines that implement processes and method's disclosedherein. Although the exemplary computer system 5 employs magnetic andoptical disks, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatother types of computer readable media that can store data accessible bya computer system 5, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards,digital video disks, RAMs, ROMs, EPROMs and other types of memory alsobe used in alternative embodiments of the computer system.

Computer system 5 further includes a plurality of serial ports 40, suchas Universal Serial Bus (USB), for connecting data input device(s) 75,such as keyboard, mouse, touch pad and other. Serial ports 40 may bealso be used to connect data output device(s) 80, such as printer,scanner and other, as well as other peripheral device(s) 85, such asexternal data storage devices and the like. System 5 may also includegraphics card 45, such as nVidia® GeForce® GT 240M or other video card,for interfacing with a monitor 60 or other video reproduction device.System 5 may also include an audio card 50 for reproducing sound viainternal or external speakers 65. In addition, system 5 may includenetwork card(s) 55, such as Ethernet, WiFi, GSM, Bluetooth or otherwired, wireless, or cellular network interface for connecting computersystem 5 to network 70, such as the Internet.

In various embodiments, the processes and methods described herein maybe implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combinationthereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as oneor more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readablemedium. Computer-readable medium includes both computer storage andcommunication medium that facilitates transfer of a computer programfrom one place to another. A storage medium may be any available mediathat can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable medium can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connectionmay be termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software istransmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaveare included in the definition of medium.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theembodiments are shown and described herein. It will be appreciated thatin the development of any such actual implementation, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve thedeveloper's specific goals, and that these specific goals will vary fromone implementation to another and from one developer to another. It willbe appreciated that such a development effort might be complex andtime-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking ofengineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminologyused herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation,such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification isto be interpreted by the skilled in the art in light of the teachingsand guidance presented herein, in combination with the knowledge of theskilled in the relevant art(s). Moreover, it is not intended for anyterm in the specification or claims to be ascribed an uncommon orspecial meaning unless explicitly set forth as such.

The various embodiments disclosed herein encompass present and futureknown equivalents to the known components referred to herein by way ofillustration. Moreover, while embodiments and applications have beenshown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the arthaving the benefit of this disclosure that any more modifications thanmentioned above are possible without departing from the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for repairing a control arm ofan automotive suspension, wherein the control arm includes a body havinga receptacle at one end thereof, and a ball stud having a ball endinserted in the receptacle, the receptacle further including asubstantially continuous circular, upward-extending flange welded at anedge of the receptacle, the apparatus comprising: a base having asaddle, and a matrix rotatably supported by the saddle, wherein acontrol arm is removably affixable to the matrix, and wherein the matrixprovides longitudinal and lateral movements and rotation of the controlarm affixed thereto in a horizontal plane relative to the base of theapparatus; the matrix comprising a matrix position calibration meansarranged to calibrate longitudinal, lateral and rotary positions of thematrix in a horizontal plane relative to the base of the apparatus; abending roller attached to a bending roller positioning means, whereinthe bending roller positioning means is arranged to calibrate verticaland longitudinal positions of the bending roller to bring the bendingroller in contact with the upward-extending flange; and a bending rollermeans arranged to bend the flange by rolling the bending roller along acircumference of the flange while applying a downward force on theflange thereby bending the flange and sealing off the ball end of theball stud in the receptacle.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thematrix position calibration means and the bending roller positioningmeans comprises a plurality of electro-mechanical actuators forcalibrating respective positions of the matrix and the bending rollermeans.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, comprising a computer, wherein theelectro-mechanical actuators are connected to and controlled by thecomputer operable to execute an algorithm for calibrating the positionsof the matrix and the bending roller means for different types ofcontrol arms.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the matrix positioncalibration means and the bending roller positioning means include aplurality of manual control means.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe matrix comprises at least three stacked plates slidably connected toeach other and arranged to move in lateral and longitudinal directionsrelative to the base, wherein a bottom plate is rotatably connected tothe saddle of the base, a middle plate is laterally slidable relative tothe bottom plate, and a top plate is longitudinally slidable, to themiddle plate, and wherein the top plate includes means for removablyaffixing different types of control arms of automotive suspensions. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control arm, including thereceptacle and the flange, are made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, andthe ball stud is made of steel.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, comprisinga plurality of different matrices, wherein each different matrix is usedfor a particular type and configuration of control arm of an automotivesuspension.